Apparatus for making artificial teeth



Feb. 6, 1945. F. R. FELCHER 2,368,816

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTIFICIAL TEETH Filed Sept. 4, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 6, 1945. F. R. FELCHE'R APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTIFICIAL lTEIEZTH Filed Sept. 4, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nature comparable to'the grain size.

Patented Feb. 6, 1945 APPARATUS FOR MAKING 'ree'rn` Oms 1 `Fred R. Felcher, Chicago, Ill. t l

Application September 4, 1942,

Serial N0. 457,271,

7 claims. (C1. lsf-asi This invention' relates to improvements in molding apparatus and. more particularly to means for making artificial teeth and for duplieating natural teeth, and it isr applicable as well to the making of ceramic articles generally. The present application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No, 374,375, filed January 14, 1941.

In the standard method of tooth manufacture metal molds are used which consist of twoor more sections and these molds contain replicas of natural teeth. Porcelain of a suitable nature and colors necessary to obtain a, definite shade are then compoundedand'flnally mixedwith a binder such as a thick solution of starch or starch and gum tragacanth or other suitable vehicle, the mixing of the paste and'the porcelain being brought to a thick putty-like mass. Each color is placed as desired by suitable means and the mold is then assembled and `compressed ina press. Subsequently there is heat applied to the mold which tends toistiffen the binder with the porcelain, after which the mold is removed from the press, opened, and the so-called biscuit teeth are removed and fired in a kiln or other suitable furnace. l

There are many disadvantages in the use of this method and a feware here described. Human teeth have deniteshapes and definite markings that are characteristic and `in vmany instances may be called individual. Certain of these markings rare difficult to producein their entirety by lf'and carving. Even if this condition could be reproduced perfectly by hand carving the abrasive character of the porcelain paste being constantly applied-to the mold. tends to wear away the carvings in the mold, necessitat--.

ing recarving or remaking of themold and resulting in considerable expense'. In the instant man;

ufacture the elimination of the metal mold makes I For vibration'it is necessary to use a porcelain of very fine mesh and the `vibrationto beof a The finer the mesh of the porcelain used thegreater the tendency to opacity as defined from translucency i in tooth manufacture. `It is therefore obvious that the greater the grain size used, and this size being either in full or in combination with srnall-` er sizes, the greater -is-,thedegree of translucency, an important point in thewproduction of teeth having a greater natural translucent effect. With the instanty apparatus-using the mold box and the split rubber mold or the solid rubber mold any desired grainvsizes in any relative propor tions may be very satisfactorilyemployed and these grains held in' their relative positions f 'through the process.

means of holding the retaining members. Thesey can be placed in teeth of ydifferent types and sizes with the retaining `members so placed as to eliminate breakage of the teeth and the danger to vbreakage due to lever forcev as applied to mastication. v l Y In the instant manufacture ofvarticial teeth or ceramic` articles the porcelain Whichhas been properly prepared `with suitable binders and grain sizes is compacted in the mold cavities by means of centrifugal force applied by a specially constructed centrifugalmachine operating at a delinite number of revolutions per minute lcompar able tothe-grain sizesused. The mold-box is used as described fabove, the split or solid rubber mold being containedv in the moldbox whilejthe porcelain is being compacted by cencontain but one or a few teeth,` or. it maybe of suicient size to hold a relatively large number of teeth, or it may have curved Walls to t the rim of a round centrifugal machine to obtain an even distributionv ofthe forces applied by the motion of the machine. l 1 Y Because the force of the machine would tend to cause a distortion ofthe flexible material in two directions, first outwardly or radially,A and thenlaterally p inthe `direction of movement of the machine, it is necessary to separate themold.

box into cells so that each cell contains a` tooth mold that is supported` against the distorting ef' fects of Athel two motions described- The mold' box is properlyfprepared to yhold tubes of suitable size that remain permanently in y'one partv of the 'split mold box, and rods suitably flttedin these tubes so placed as to engage the oppositewall of the inside of the box. These tubesand rods may be placed in rows above eachother, one, two or three rows, etc., depending upon the sizes required in the lteeth or the quantity of teeth manufactured, or the judgement of the operator to prevent distortion of the mold cavities; or individually removable plates separating the cells may be employed instead of said rods and tubes. In this process for the manufacture of teeth, natural teeth are selected, then properly enlarged so as to be of the proper size after ring, allowing for the contraction of the porcelain ;;material gduring the "firing, The box consists-oi three parts,..a base 'which is used for holding the enlarged teeth which have been duplicated in metal as individual metal models, and the retaining members held ashyindividualpins, rods or tubes which all haveltheir'placesin 'the metal tooth model, or small backs which are i rectangular blocks fitting against theiilllpcrnor- Fig. 3 is a vertical cross sectional View through Fig. 1 on the line 3 3.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view through Fig. 1 on the line 4-4, the dotted lines showing certain parts in altered positions.

Fig. 5 `is a plan view of the centrifugal table showing mold boxes in position thereon.

Fig. 6 is a View of Fig. 5 in elevation and partly Y in centralver-tical section.v

tion of the metal model tQQh..2.nd .Whichisin- Y into and-through the *tubes-carried? by zthe 'box until `they contact the opposite vsideof the box Aand t 'into Islight#depressions y"in the, box'fwall; or when plates 'are used -to N'divide fthe f box -they may vtbe introduced "throug'l1 -'slots lin the "face -o thebox.

--Soft ruhbens'ynthetic rubber or other-:suitable flexible material is now prepared and when finl the proper nstate u'it' fis jpoured into -"the f-mold box throughcbox'openingsand allovve'dtocool. =At"the proper --time i'tihe base of 'the' boX- is sremoved, together Withthe Y`retaining members. l Therods are withdrawn `riri'to-tlfietubesfor the -platesselectively removed; tojpermitthepropercutting thesmold through theimolld Vcavity'dividing the 'flexible mold lengituclinal'lyiinto two Vparts. Both.7 anterior 'lar-1d posterior teeth can be made--using vcentrifugal forceitofcompactitheiporcelainfiwithoutthe necessityoffsplitting` the moldfandstill using-fthe-mold box andsthefrods-and tubes, lor theplaftes if preferre'd, 'for the prevention'of distortionvofthelmold cavity during compacting offthe-porcelain-ma terial. Posteriorl'teeth are-enlarged an-dYadu-plication Iof the 4'occlusal for-grinding -surfacesfmade by metal jcastingsyor other vsuitable xmethods of metal reproduction of these-surfaces. "'Iheposterior fmetal master -Imodels lWi-th l'the -casting properly'placed onv theocclusalsurface-areplaced -in-pos tion 'on the/.lower "side-101" base of` the lmold box Iiri f'thejplaces made Fforftheerecepti-onlofthe Imold materialpoured. `=When-set,-`the*metalftoo'th modelsaare"removedairdjthelbcxI-mayibe'prepared lilor-cuttirig orfsplitting, Vorithe mold fmayfbeleft solid. Anterior I-tibe Ateeth `:fnaylbe @made in a `solid I`moldloyhaving s-atlin'gua'l :plate with fa rod attached. y

Referring tof'the :drawings: y

Fig.) lI1 *is a wiew, of Afthe `:mold box in #elevation andpartly infperspective.

AFig. 7; is an :enlarged "detail sectional view showing a tooth with back plate arranged in the mold tbox base before pouring the rubber material.

Fig. 8 is an unired posterior tube tooth with occlusal plate irl-section and pin passing through `"the center of the tooth.

Y .,FlgylQis a plan view of Fig. 11.

Fig. 1l is a face view of the back plate. Fi'g-"12is=va=side elevational viewfoffan unred anterior :tube '-.tootn :with 'f-metal plate, rois and button theiremoval iof: whichf-proiduces the lingual surface andthe hole for-retention.

Fig. '-13is.a :viewer aniunlired posterior tdenture tooth i/vith plate l'for 'the occlusal "surface and Likerreference :charactersfdenotefcorresponding parts throughoutfth'e several'zvievvs.

.Apparatus :is vprovide'dherein :for adjustment toaccommodate :a `1high-- or "10W iloite, said: appara- .tus lbeingffhere embodied `1in @aa .metal plate .fof particular '.yconstructiontwhich'li's -.placed in 4the mold'box `rand' :in r@which@plate `surface. depressions ,areiformedfsforminf oriother'f'retentions. .Thexpurpose fof 2this :plate 'is nto ihold .the f-rods, tubes .for pins awhile the :porcelain material "isfbeing ,cornpacted into the mold cavities. .Thisibackxplate 2a gmay also hold means `of retention such as .a tapered 'plug 2b tfor interchangeable porcelain teeth or .asrthey laltefsometirnescalled, inter"- chang-,eable facinga fas z:designatedin Figs. 9., l!) and 11. Anotherfpurpose .aofithe type of hack plate A'2i-Whichlikefthefback plate 2:-2ayisfflat and oblong .in shape-and provided with acdc-wels! but having Din rdepressions v3., risvtoifacilitate the prQper,-handling ofj.themompactegditoothfrom the mold. 'When-the rccmpacted:toothandzfloack plate are removed kfrom .fthe ,mold cavity :a @slight rdeg-ree .of heat applied tto :the `bia-ck lplate l.tends fto soften the` .wax ,in :theifdepressionsl in which the heads of the pins yare embedded l'and-'also :tends to ,fstifen ,the Y binding material vmaking it .-fa simpler matter etoremoveathe zunired, porcelain tooth ing or other suitable methods of metal reproduction, said plate in Fig. 8 carrying'apin or. shank 33 passing centrally through the tooth to form an elongated perforation therein, and a button 34 for rubber retention at one end of said shank,.said plate in Fig. 13 carrying a `button 34` for' alike purpose. i

In Fig. 12 the use of an incisal plate 35'Iwith shank or rod 3'l and terminal button 38 for the making of anterior tube teeth by the centrifugal method is shown. It is a part of the present technique to subject the mold box, later to be fully described, and hence the porcelain material to centrifugal force or action, the material being in a thin condition as it is poured into the mold or cavity after the rubber is poured and the master tooth removed.

The application of centrifugal force permits a porcelain material of relatively coarse or mixed screen to |be used if desired thus resulting in the formation of a translucent finished product -while somewhat less subject to shrinkage than extreme-l ly ground material, The action of centrifugal force is positive and dynamic and results in the positive elimination of the water or other liquid introduced into the mold.

In preparation for the reproduction of a tooth by this method a master tooth, as shown at I, Fig. 4 is first prepared from the tooth to be reproduced by any of the well known methods. vThe enlarged master tooth allows` for natural shrinkage of the porcelain tooth during the ring step. The first step in my improved manufacture is to make a metal back plate 2 formed to t in a depression in the inside or at surface oi the master tooth I. This plate 2 may obviously be made of a length'to, accommodate several master teeth instead of, only one. 'I he back plate 2 may have recesses as shown at 3, Fig. 4, for receiving retaining pins 4 which may be of the single or double headed variety dependent upon the type of tooth desired or they may have retentions for interchangeable porcelain teeth as shown in Figs. 9, l .and 11, or other means of retention used in artificial teeth, such as rods for holding heads or collars for subsequent soldering in gold clad pins, tubes, etc.

Because the metal plate does not containor involve the lingual anatomy of the tooth as does the metal mold process the incisal lingual anatomy being reproduced here in the flexible molding material, the back plates may be formed from standard inexpensive light metal, suchv as aluminum strip, for lightness, giving an added advantage to the plate of an interchangeable feature for it'can thus be used in different vmold cavities.

Ihe mold box in which the porcelain teeth are produced consists of a longitudinally divided main box part 6 and a base plate 7. The main boX has side walls 8, 9, end walls I0 and a top II, the larger portion thereof being formed with large and small spaced perforations I2, I3, this box description having particular reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 but not to Figs. 14, 15, 16 andv 1 7 which will be hereinafter described.

The back plate 2, having been made as described and the tooth attached to the same,A the plate with the tooth in place is secured in posi# tion to the base plate 1., as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. As the mold box is assembled and previous to pouring the rubber mold material an anchor or dowel pin I5 carried by said base plate has been received in a corresponding depression' in the side wall 8 and dowel pins I6, preferably central guide slots 21 formed by the junction of two in number carried by wall 9, have been re-k movably received in complementary recesses formed in said wall 8. The main box part is placed down upon the base plate and the mold of rubber, synthetic rubber, or other suitable flexible material .I 4 is poured into the box through the perforation I2 in the top thereof, the perforation I3 serving as an air outlet. The 'wall 8 is perforated and carries a pluralityiof tubes II extending therethrough and arranged in one or more horizontal rows depending upon the sizes required in the teeth, the number of teeth to be manufactured, or the judgment of the operator to prevent distortion of the mold cavities. When two or more horizontal rows of tubes are em'- ployed the members of one row are disposed in the vertical plane of the other row or rows.

, Adjustably received in said tubes are rods I8, the ends thereof being preferablyrounded slightly for disposition in one position in recesses I9 formed in the inner face of the sidewall 9 directly opposite the perforations in the wall 8.-

The box sections are` secured together by binder. screws 20 having wing-shaped heads 2| fast thereto, said screws having bodies extending freely through perforations in the ends of the wall 9 into threaded cavities complementarily formed in the wall 8. The Walls 8, 9 of the mold box may be straight and parallel to each other or may be modied to form the walls 8', 9 which are parallel to each other and curved to correspond to the wall of therotary table 22 mounted upon a base 23 and having a shaft 24 fast upon which area plurality of pulleys 25 of various sizes selectively driven by the belt. 26 running to a driving motor, not shown.

After they rubber, synthetic rubber or other suitable exible material has become sufliciently xset and hardened the base plate I is removed.

as denoted in dotted lines in Fig. 4 and the master metal models or teeth I removed together with the retaining members. The rods I8 are removed lpart way to allow for the proper cutting of the mold through the mold cavity and dividing the flexible mold into two parts. This may be done with a thin knife forced down through the parts of the box. The two parts of themold box may now be pulled apart, the part 9 being shown pulled away in Fig. 4, dotted lines.

By means of the improved mold box and the centrifugal method solid or uncut molds may be used. After the mold cavity has been properly prepared by proper washing the plate 2 is ready for the' reception of the pins or other retaining members. In the indentations prepared for the reception of these pins some soft wax is placed and the heads of the pinsembedded inthe wax.

the cut mold method is used. Otherwise as in.

an uncut mold the back plate 2 is placed in proper position in the mold cavity. The prepared porcelain material which has been thinned by water or other suitable liquid is now poured into the tooth cavity 30. tled and compacted in the mold cavitySI) by centrifugal force, additional porcelain being added and compacted until the mold is flled.- The' mold `box'or boxes are arranged upon the table 22 of the centrifugal machine which rotates ata This material is sety definite number of revolutions per minute com` parable to the grain sizes used.

Because of the nature of the flexible mold ma.. terial where centrifugal force is used there is imparted a positive voutward and lateral thrust tending to distort the mold cavity and the subsequent contents therein. To overcome this the mold box is divided by means' of the rods I8 which extend through the tubes I1 and t into the depressions i9. The rods I8 perforate the flexible mold material and pass between the mold cavities and relieve and strengthen said cavities from the distortive effect of the applied centrifugal force. Positive outward and lateral' thrusts are also imparted to the mold boxes and their contents, the boxes being disposed upon the oor. of the table upon the rods l 8 or with the same uppermost as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The operation of the centrifugal machine forces the water to the top of the mold cavities while compa-cting the porcelain in the mold. The particular arrangement and position of. the tubes I7 and rods I8 between the cells ofthe flexible mold is to positively support this mold and to retain the sections in articulate relation and to prevent distortion which would otherwise result due to centrifugal force when applied,

This process may be employed Without splitting the mold and still using the mold box to prevent distortion through the medium of the tubes and rods. With either the split or one piece flexible mold the centrifugal machine is used until the porcelain material fills in the tooth cavity or cavities. The centrifugal force drives the extra water to the top where it is readily removed. It is to be noted that the plates 2, 2a are formed each with a rigid dowel member 3| at one end' to permit handling of the plate. The back plate with the tooth or teeth formed onr it are now removed from the mold cavity, placed in a warming oven which sets the binder producinga hard biscuit and releasing the pins from the wax. The teeth now may be fire hardened or stored for future firing.

Referring now to Figs. 14, 15, 16 and 17 only, the mold box consists of a ibase A, front wall B, top wall C and rear wall D. The box sections are secured together by 'binder screws E having heads F while dowel pins G carried by wall D are received in cavitiesin the Wall C. The base A is formed with a plurality of cavities H for the removable reception of the master models or teeth I corresponding to the like cavities in the base l clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The wall D is formed with vertically disposed spaced grooves I directly in line with vertical slots J formed in the front wall B, said grooves and slots being of a width and length to snugly receive the spaced removable flat plates K that are 'introduced through said slots through the walls B, said plates K when in position extending beyond the face of Wall B so that they may be readily engaged by the fingers of the operator for insertion, removal or adjustment, said plates being entirely separate one from the other and individually and selectively removable. The recesses and slots are so arranged that when they receive said plates K the latter divide the mold into uniform one size separate cells L each of which registers with an orifice M and air holes N in the top wall C,

the orifices M receiving the porcelain material be made if desired and one mold at a time removed. This independent cell structure effectually resists the distortive tendency set up by the operation of the centrifugal machine vand assures most perfect tooth formation.

As `many modifications of the invention will readily suggest'themselves to those skilled in the art I do not limit the invention to the specific structure herein illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for making artificial teeth and the like by the application of centrifugal force, a sectional mold box, the Awall of one section being formed with depressions, the walls of another section being formed with perforations opposite said depressions, tubes in said perforations, and rods adjustably received in said tubes for removable disposition in lsaid wall depressions.

2. In apparatus for making artificial teeth and the like, a sectional mold box, a flexible mold in' said box, the wall of one section being formed with depressions arranged in rows, the depressions of one row lying in a vertical plane common to corresponding depressions of a second row, the wall of another section being formed with perforations opposite said depressions, tubes in said perforations, and rods adjustably received in said tubes for removable disposition in said depressions, said rods passing through said iiexible mold.l

' y3, In apparatus for making artificial teeth and the like, avsectional mold box, plates removably received in said box dividing the same into separate cells, and flexible molds in said cells.

4. In apparatus for making artificial teeth and the like, a sectionalmold box, a Wall of one section -being formed withv grooves, the wall of an-` other section being formed with slots opposite said grooves, individually insertable, adjustable and regnovable plates received in said slots and grooves, and flexible molds in said mold box 'between said plates. v

5. In apparatus for making articial teeth and the like, a sectional mold box, the wall of one section being formed with grooves, the wall of another section being formed with slots opposite said grooves, individually adjustable and removable plates received in said slots and grooves dividing said mold box into separate cells, said plates extending outwardly beyond said slotted wall With respect to said grooved Wall, and flexible molds in said cells.

6. In apparatus for making artificial teeth and the like by the application'of centrifugal force, a sectional mold box, a flexible mold in said sectional mold box, the material forming same being of a consistency to normally become distorted when subjected to centrifugalforce, and members removably engaging the sections of said sectional mold box passing through said flexible mold and supporting the latter against distortion.

7. In apparatus for making artificial teeth and the like by the applicati-on of centrifugal force, a sectional mold box, a flexible mold in said sectional mold box, the material forming saine being of a yconsistency to normally become distorted when subjected to centrifugal force, and members passing through said flexible mold and through at least one of the sections of said sectional mold box supporting said exible mold against distortion. said members being further retained in operative position while subjected to centrifugal force. v

FRED R. FELCHER. 

